Baltimore Volunteers

Welcome to NFTE Baltimore’s Volunteer Homepage

We deliver entrepreneurial education to 17 sites throughout the city. Volunteers provide valuable experiences, share personal stories, and are business mentors to our students. Our volunteer-guided field trips to local businesses and class visits from businesspersons help students to connect their classroom learning to the world around them.

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Our volunteers

Our volunteers are diverse individuals—corporate executives at major national and international companies, entrepreneurs, young professionals, retired executives, and mid-level managers—who represent all aspects of business operations. They are enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and helping students define their pathway to prosperity. Our volunteers’ efforts have a direct and lasting influence on the personal and professional successes of our young people.

[3]Volunteer Orientation

Become a NFTE volunteer

By lending your talent and time, you can present new perspectives on the NFTE curriculum to students. As a volunteer, you can choose from several exciting opportunities that range from one-hour, one-day classroom options to multiple-days service with a school or class on a regular basis. Our program manager and staff are available during volunteer assignments to lend support and guidance. To find an opportunity that interests you and fits your schedule, review the brief descriptions of our four principle volunteer positions here[4].

Are you ready to join us as a volunteer? We hope you are. The process is clear and simple. Click the “new volunteer application” button and complete the application. You can also contact Darlene Ajayi at darlene.ajayi[5]@nfte.com[6] or 443.721.6052 for more information about volunteering.

Our program model

Our program model is a stimulating classroom-based curriculum. Through the development of an original business plan using a NFTE experiential approach, we engage students by imparting the fundamentals of entrepreneurship education. We help students realize that core school subjects are relevant to their lives and can help them succeed.

Students learn throughout the year what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and the skills necessary to launch, manage, and grow their own business. They start at the very beginning with opportunity recognition, move into market research and business finances, and conclude by presenting and defending their original business plan.

Our student participants

The students we serve in Baltimore range from ages 11–18 and are enrolled in local middle and high schools, and are active in community-based organizations. They come from low-income communities in major cities across the country, which are often rife with crime, violence, and high dropout rates. However, we instill hope and improve students’ lives through entrepreneurship education. The strong financial literacy skills that they learn help them to make and manage money.

We encourage our students to stay in school and help them recognize business opportunities that create pathways to success. Our students gain tools for success and actively participate in the world of business and entrepreneurship, which leads to a revised vision they have of themselves and their future. They graduate with the necessary presentation, leadership, and problem-solving skills for continuing their education and contributing to the economy by becoming business owners or joining the workforce.